July 9, 2008

The Original Jesse Jackson Hot Mic Scandal

In light of this, it's probably worth recalling that this isn't the first time Jesse Jackson has been involved in a hot mic scandal during a heated presidential campaign. Except the other time it happened, in 1992, Jackson was on the receiving end of the diatribe--from Bill Clinton. Here's a description of the incident as it was recently recalled in the New York Observer:

A few days after that year’s New Hampshire primary, which Clinton
lost to Paul Tsongas, a local television reporter asked Clinton to
comment on a (baseless, as it turned out) report that Jackson had
decided to endorse Tom Harkin, whose campaign was barely clinging to
life at that point. Clinton was furious.

“It’s an outrage,” he fumed, apparently believing the camera was
off, “a dirty, double-crossing, back-stabbing thing to do. … For him to
do this, for me to hear this on a television program, is an act of
absolute dishonor.”

But since all of this happened before Fox News and YouTube, it's largely been forgotten.